Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

The pursuit of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) is one of the chief priorities of the Franciscans and flows naturally from the life of St. Francis and the Franciscan movement that he inspired in pursuit of the Gospel Life.

Francis’s love of Jesus inspired him to public preaching, and to take on the concerns of others. He reached out to the leper, the poor, and the marginalized, recognizing Christ’s presence in them. He proclaimed God’s love and peace, actively fostering reconciliation between warring parties. In all of creation, he perceived God’s love and beauty. His life was marked by intense religious experiences, which drew him deeper into the mystery of God. Francis made the message of God’s love understandable to ordinary people.

In the book Francis of Assisi: A Model for Human Liberation, Leonardo Boff gives a great deal of insight on how “some aspects of [Francis’] life make him particularly relevant for our times.” Among these traits is Francis’ “living out of universal kinship,” one that Boff views as particularly “crucial today when all cultures and religions encounter one another and can generate conflict and even war, due to lack of dialogue and true encounter.”

From Francis and the early friars, with their simple greeting of “Pace e Bene” (Peace and All Good) up to our current days, Franciscans have held the title “heralds of peace.” The violence of our world and the shattered lives of so many continue to cry out simply for peace. Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted people are needed more than ever to be entry points of God’s healing peace.

Official Statements and Letters of the US Franciscans

We have celebrated the DACA program with the “dreamers” as a modern response to the Biblical imperative to “welcome the stranger.” Now, after President Trump’s decision to end the executive action, we commit ourselves to stand in support of and solidarity with “dreamers.”

We hold that all forms of racism, white supremacy, neo-nazism, xenophobia and hatred are wrong. Because we believe that every person is created by God in love, we also hold that disrespect or diminishment of—or violence against—anyone offends not only that person but also the One who created that person. (August 17, 2017)

The recent actions of President Donald J. Trump regarding the treatment of immigrants andrefugees entering our country have been troubling to a wide ranging group of citizens across theUnited States. As Franciscans, we are morally outraged by and resolutely denounce the January 27,2017 Executive Order addressing the U.S. immigrant and refugee admission program. (February 1, 2017)

As Franciscan friars in the United States, we of course, join our voices to the chorus of those offering thoughts and prayers for the victims in Orlando. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our LGBT brothers and sisters as they grieve and try to make sense of this tragedy. To them we say clearly: we stand with you. But, there is another chorus we would like to join our voices to today; that of the voices calling forsensible gun reform in America. (June 16, 2016)

We are reminded in scripture (Matthew 25:31-40) that a people will be judged by how they treattheir “least brothers and sisters.” The current situation, with children’s lives in the balance, posesjust such a test for the people of our country. We must strive to rise to the best of humanity byproviding safe harbor to these children and seeking long-term solutions to their plight. (August 15, 2014)

Our Provincials wrote President Obama requesting that heprovide further leadership and direction in this crisis. They made clear that sending anyone, let alonechildren, back to three of the most violent nations in the world is fundamentally unjust. (August 15, 2014)

TheFranciscan friars in the U.S. serve millions of people in more than 220 ministry sites. In many of theseministries, we witness each day the suffering borne by our undocumented brothers and sisters. Thisservice we have the honor to offer is the latest chapter in our own experience of immigration in theUnited States. Franciscans have actively participated in the American story of migration since the 1500swhen followers of St. Francis helped settle Saint Augustine, Florida. (June 4, 2013)

Our Roman Catholic moral tradition demands that we speak out in the face of injustice. We willcontinue our commitment to serve people in need, but also to call for the legal and social changes thatwill lead to greater justice for God’s people. (June 4, 2013)

The dehumanization and second-class personhood that the current immigration system creates must end.The work in Congress is a positive step, particularly if it will help reunify families and more stronglysupport the least powerful among us. (June 4, 2013)

As religious brothers in the Franciscan tradition, we are rooted in a stance of gratitude that flows fromawareness of the myriad ways that God is disclosed and made manifest in the world. For us, there can beno dispute that God has been and continues to be revealed through the faithful (and often unsung) witnessof religious women in the United States. (May 31, 2012)

As fellow Catholics, we recognize our shared commitment to care for the stranger in our midst. In our dailyministry we Franciscans witness the tragic separation of families and abuse of so many through the immigrationsystem. The only solution that can yield the justice that our faith calls us to engender comes from a completeand comprehensive reform. (November 7, 2013)

We call upon the spirit and intercession of our founder, St. Francis of Assisi, that we might all become“instruments of peace” and that all people of goodwill can come to see that terror and violence are neverthe solutions to the problems we face. (November 14, 2015)